Up Up and Away
by the-photographer-15
Summary: The flock ditches Max for Maya. What will Max do? She finds a new family. But what happens when the traitors come back with news? Will Max listen? Re-Written/Re-Edited chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, So, I'm re-writing this chapter because I want to and I didnt like how I originally wrote it! ENJOY!**

**-Horsegirl5701**

"Dana Jade Ride! Let's go or we are going to be late!" I shouted up the stairs in my family's 3-story home in southern Colorado. At 17, I lived in this house that my mom had bought my flock and me. The catch, they didn't live here anymore. My OLD flock that is. Now I lived here with my NEW Flock. I glanced at the clock mounted above the kitchen table, tapping my foot impatiently. My best friend and second in command Arro sighed exasperatedly at my behavior, shaking her light brown curls out of her face. My other best friend Erica smirked from her spot by the doorframe. The pounding of feet on the hardwood floor above me, alerted us to the upcoming presence of the noisy 15 year old that was DJ Ride. Why did she have my last name? Because she was my family; everyone who had become a part of my New Flock in the past 6 months had taken the last name Ride. All of the younger kids that is.

DJ slid down the stair railing dressed in her normal ripped skinny jeans, purple tank top, and 1D crop top. Her Union Jack Converse clad feet hit the floor with a loud thud as she landed in front of our waiting trio. Her dark brown hair was twisted in a side braid, resting over her shoulder almost to her hip, bringing out the silver winged earrings fastened in her ears. Her black eyeliner brought out her bright green eyes that always seemed to sparkle with mischief. She caught my disapproving glance and slid on her black letterman's jacket to hide her intricate wings. I rolled my eyes at her antagonistic behavior.

Hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back to the day, THEY, left.

_*Flashback*_

_I sat in my room on a sunny Saturday morning, surfing the web on the laptop that had been a birthday present from Fang. I had just turned 17 that morning. I brushed a lock of dirty-blonde hair behind my ear as I shut the red laptop in thought. The Flock had been strangely distant this morning. Almost no one would meet my eyes, Nudge had hardly said a word, and Angel seemed even more diabolical than usual. Iggy had made me a large plate of chocolate chip cookies, but had hardly said anything about it. Gazzy kept looking at me solemnly, and Fang's eyes held a bit of guilt. I was suspicious but was not going to confront them. Yet. I pushed my chair out from my desk and stood up brushing my slightly sweaty palms on my skinny jeans. The sun was high and the sky was bright. Fang and I would have to go flying later. I grinned for a moment before remembering who had shown up right after my birthday celebration. Dylan, and he brought my clone with him. Yeah, you thought she was gone for good. Think again. They came to wish me Happy Birthday, yeah right. I shook my head and crinkled my nose slightly. Nothing was going to ruin today. _

_I walked over to my bedroom door and cracked it open. Not a sound. I shrugged. The kids must be playing in the Living room or something. I slipped out of my room and clicked the door shut softly. I tiptoed over to the stairs, pausing when I heard nothing. A soft hand slipped around my waist and I jumped as it pulled me into its owner. _

_ "Boo," Fangs warm breath on my ear made me shiver. He must have felt it because his lips curled into a smirk. He placed a soft kiss underneath my ear, and on my collarbone causing me to shudder. "Come, on Flock Meeting in the living room." I frowned slightly as he led me down the stairs, keeping his arm fastened around my waist. The whole house was silent. I was on high alert. As Fang and I walked into the Living room together, his arm slowly withdrew itself and he moved to stand next to the rest of the flock standing on the opposite side of the room. Something was up. Angel smiled in a way that reminded me of Jeb._

_ "Ah, Max. Thank you for coming," She began before I cut in._

_ "Well it is a Flock meeting," I told her a bit of confusion and uncertainty lacing my voice. Angel set her jaw, a bit annoyed that I had interrupted her. But then again she was 8 and a half. She wasn't in charge. I saw the corners of her mouth twitch as she read my mind. _

_ "As I was saying," Angel ground out her eyes turning steely, something was definitely wrong. "Thank you for coming Max. You see there was something we all wanted to speak to you about, but I have taken it upon myself to do the explaining. Max, Max, Max, you don't know what you're doing anymore. Your purpose is over, you 'saved' the world and now you don't know what to do anymore. You're useless. You treat us like babies, even though we are old enough to make our own choices. And so you would have us sit here, our days dwindling down, until we are old and rotten. Doing nothing. Because that's all you know how to do. So our dear Max, we have decided that you are no longer needed in my flock," I stared at her in disbelief at the cold, ruthless menace so evident in her voice. "You are being kicked out Maxie, we don't need you anymore. You've been replaced." Angel finished grinning cruelly at me. I stared around the room. Nudge was crouched on the floor staring at the threads of the throw rug so intently I was about ready to watch them wither under her gaze. Her body was shaking and I witnessed a single silver tear leak onto the ground. Gazzy had his eyes cast to the floor, his lip quivering, hands in fists, knuckles turning pale at the amount of pressure he was using to dig his nails into his palm. Iggy's jaw was rigidly set, mimicking that of Fang's, his eyes, though sightless, trained on me. And Fang. He was staring at me with sorrow and regret. Then I noticed who else was standing with my- the traitors. Maya and Dylan. Dylan stood tall, sneering at me, his eyes filled with fire and hatred. Maya just grinned triumphantly as she slipped her arm around Fang, resting her head on his shoulder. I almost broke at that one. And then there was Angel. Deceitful, Merciless, Kniving Angel. I liked her a lot better when she was 6, quiet, and not set on world domination. Now she was a b- No, Angel was too young for me to call that. At least right now. I narrowed my eyes at them,_

_ "So what exactly are you saying," I seethed assuming an attack position, suddenly, I felt threatened by the people that I had raised. Angel glared at me and began examining her fingernails. This must have been a signal for someone else to start talking. _

_ "You have 10 minutes to pack your stuff and leave," Fang answered, coldly. I looked at him, evident shock gracing my face. Then I let out a slight laugh of disbelief and the traitors raised their eyebrows. _

_ "I'm not leaving," Angel opened her mouth to protest and Maya rolled her eyes, "I said I'm not leaving because I bought this damn house, I raised your scrawny ungrateful butts, I took care of you when no one else would. So you know what, YOU are the ones with 10 minutes to pack and leave, my mother and I bought this house and you have lost your mind, well then again you already have, your brains have obviously turned into shit. So go, know!" I shrieked as the wind began to pick up, starting to swirl around me, causing the girls hair to go flying. The traitors staggered before slowly retreating out the door. Fang had to pick up Nudge and practically carry her sobbing form out the door. The wind began to slow down. Did I do that? I must have, my mouth spread into a grin. Then that grin dropped as I heard the front door slam. _

_ My family had abandoned me, on my birthday, for my clone. My lower lip quivered. No Maximum Ride will not cry. I dug my nails deeper into the now red palm of my hand. I blinked away tears and stalked up to my room. I grabbed the laptop that Fang had given me this morning and the small bag filled with the other presents given to me by my former-family. I looked out my window to see 7 shapes soaring away into the sky. I growled under my breath and whipped open the doors of my balcony. I stepped out and whipped out my wings. Laptop and bag of presents still in hand I jumped into the sky soaring higher and higher with my warp-speed. I stopped at what must have been three hundred feet in the air. I could see the mountains that were right by our house I flew towards them taking a steep hundred foot dive. I wound back my arm and torpedoed the laptop that I had received as a present at the mountainside releasing the bag in my other hand at the same time. The laptop shattered into a thousand pieces. I flew down to a ledge leading to a cliff carved into the sandy mountainside. I landed on my hands and knees, the rocks on the mountainside cutting into my palms, wedging themselves under my skin. All alone up here, I let myself cry. Tears streamed from my face and my shoulders were wracked with sobs. _

_A shuffling in the cave made me wipe my dirt and blood covered hands across the back of my jeans and then to clear the tears from my eyes. I stood up and sniffled, assuming an attack position. Who knew what was in that cave. A shape began to take form from the shadows, then four more erupting from behind it. I narrowed my eyes trying to make out more shapes. The figures emberged from the shadow and I was mildly surprised. 5 teens had just come out of the cave to find me sobbing on a mountainside with my hands covered in blood and my wings out. The teens looked at each other. There were two boys and three girls, two being my age, two looking a year younger, and one looking about 14. The boy in front, was dressed in dark-wash jeans and a white t-shirt. His light brown hair was shaggy and swept across his forehead highlighting his exquisite green eyes, that now looked at me in concern. He looked about my age of 17. The girl next to his also looked my age, Her curly light brown hair was laced with red, the tips being more prominent. Her grey eyes scanned me and softened when she came upon my tear streaked face._

_The youngest girl had long dark-brown hair that was knotted and dirty. Come to mention it they all were dirty and bedraggled. Her dark brown eyes looked at me in intrest, resting for a moment on my wings. However she did not look surprised. The last two teenagers looked startilingly alike. They both had the same shaggy golden brown hair and cat-like amber eyes. They were tan and muscular, but were scanning there surroundings warily._

_ "Are you ok?" The green-eyed boy asked, I stood up straight and nodded. "You don't look ok," He told me with evident concern in his voice as he stepped towards me. I outwardly flinched and he sighed. "You don't need to worry. We're like you. We're mutants,"_

_*End Flashback*_

Those five kids changed my life. The became my new family. As it turned out, the green-eyed boy's name was Nico, the girl with the brown and red hair was Arro, and the younger girl was Dana Jade, or DJ as she preferred; and they were all avian-americans like me. The other two teens who had looked alike ended up being twins named Erica and Leo. Unlike myself, Nico, Arro, and DJ, they were 95% human and 5% lion. This meant that they could shift into said big cat. They became my new family. My family then got bigger;

_*Flashback* _

_The Sun was high and the sky was grey, not the unusual blue it had been a week and a half before. I soared through the sky twisting around to look at Nico. His large dark brown wings were tipped with white and gray, with white feathers scattered amongst the brown. We suspected that the bird DNA he had was a bald-eagle. He swooped down to me wrapping his arms around my waist and I giggled. Yes I giggled, deal with it. Nico kissed the top of my head before releasing my waist and bulleting into the sky. I rolled my eyes. If you haven't guessed by now, Nico was my boyfriend. We had started dating a few days after my new family had moved in. I flew after him grateful for the soft breeze cooling my hot skin. We flew towards the mountains and dove down a cliffside pulling up at the last minute. As I pulled up from my dive, a terrible wail made me jump out of my skin and falter. I thought at first that I was hearing things but then I heard it again._

_ "Did you hear that?" I asked Nico. He nodded his emerald eyes scanning the mountainside for the source of the noise. Then we saw her. A little girl, dressed in a ratty floral dress and torn up leggings. She looked about 8. She was clinging to a rock in a small crevice about 150 feet up. It would be almost impossible for a human to reach her, and so it boggled my mind as to how this little girl had gotten up to where she was trapped. I shot a glance at Nico who was staring at the little girl in horror. I had made up my mind. We were saving her. It was the right thing to do. As the two of us swooped closer to the sobbing child, she wailed again, causing my eardrums to pop. She stopped when she saw the two of us hovering in front of her. "Your like me!" She squeaked. This little girl reminded me somewhat of Angel, with her curls. But this girl had long dirty-blonde locks that looked as if they belonged to a 16 year old. Her bright aqua eyes stared at us with intrest as we hovered warily outside the crevice._

_ "You have wings?" I asked her inquisitively. She nodded gesturing to her wings. They were small with a wingspan of about 4 and a half feet, which was impressive for her age. The color of a soft downy grey, I concluded she must have been injected with dove DNA. Her left wing was bent oddly, and feathers were scattered at her feet. The little girl must have gotten stuck in between the rocks to her left, and had to wrench her wing out. Her eyes pleaded with me._

_ "Please miss, my sister was trying to help me, but she-sh-she fell!" The little girl wailed the last part and Nico looked at me urgently before scanning the ground. Then we saw her. A girl that looked about Erica and Leo's age lying a hundred feet below us, wings spread and covered in blood, her long platinum and aqua hair streaked with red; crimson running down the side of her fore-head. Her arm was bent awkwardly as well. This girl must not know how to fly. _

_ "Nico, you get this one, I'll go get her," I instructed and my boyfriend nodded before I dove towards the unconscious girl at the foot of the cliff. Ever so slowly, I gingerly slipped my arms under the girl's lithe frame, lifting her off the sandy floor. She wasn't that heavy considering we bird kids have hollow bones and some of the body structure of a bird. I glanced up and saw Nico holding the little girl; she was clutching to his body, desperately afraid. I pushed off the ground dragging a little at the weight of another, but I could make it home. Let's just hope this girl could too._

_*End Flashback*_

When the older girl had come too, we found that her name was Aqua, to match her hair. Her younger sister, went by the name of Rain and was 8 and a half. She was a sweet little girl, and easily became my baby. Aqua and Rain had also taken my last name, much like DJ. Not more than two days later, we stumbled upon the last two members of our family. Where were all these bird-kids coming from? To be honest, I don't know!

_*Flashback* _

_ "Hey Max, DJ and I are going to fly up the mountain and chill. We're taking Erica with us. You want to come?" My best friend and Second in command Arro called up the stairs. Everyone had expected for Nico to be second in command given he's my boyfriend and all, but he of all people suggested it be Arro. She's clear thinking, mature, smart, realistic, but can fight like a bad-ass. She was accepted in a heartbeat as second in command. I shut my NEW laptop that I had bought the day after my birthday, and stood up. _

_ "Yeah, Hang on a second! I'll be right down!" I shouted back, quickly digging out my black converse and jamming them onto my feet. I skipped out the door and slid down the stair railing hopping off at the bottom to land at my best friends feet. Arro rolled her eyes at me and motioned for us to follow her as we walked out the back door. It was a cool day, the sun was hidden but it was still warm and breezy. "Read everyone?" I asked as Erica came over to Arro and I, each of us taking one of her arms to carry her. On her back was a small backpack containing her art supplies. She would draw sometimes given the chance and inspiration. I grasped Erica's arm firmly and Arro nodded at me doing the same. Erica grinned in anticipation. We had tried this out a few times and she loved it. It was also nice that she wasn't that heavy, even though she wasn't hollow like a bird kid. Lions are very lithe though much like a cat, so she wasn't as heavy as a normal human. "Up Up And Away Ladies!" I shouted as Erica pushed off with her feet to help us get her in the air. I looked to my right to see DJ flying steadily, a look of utter concentration on her face. As soon as Aqua and Rain were strong enough to move around, I was employing some serious flying lessons for everyone. Arro had healed the sisters with her powers, but they were still a bit weak due to lack of nutrition for a good while, although they should be up and running again in no time. _

_We flew higher and higher towards the mountains behind our home, and in only about 10 minutes, we reached a nice peak, not to high, not to low to sit on. We carefully touched down to the ground and Erica wobbled for a moment before standing up straight._

_ "Thanks guys, that was cool!" She grinned before finding a place to sit, and pulling out her art supplies. I turned to DJ who had landed a bit breathlessly._

_ "You ok DJ?" I asked her a bit concerned. She glared at me._

_ "Yes, yes I am," She answered smartly before sighing in defeat, "No, not really, I wish I was a better flyer. I have to concentrate so hard just to stay in the air!" She told me voice heavy with frustration. I put my hand on her shoulder._

_ "Hey don't worry, as soon as Aqua and Rain are 100%, we all are going to have flying lessons. Even Erica and Leo," I assured her and she smiled in relief. _

_ "Thanks Max," She said softly hugging me gently. I was shocked for a moment at first but then squeezed back before pulling away and ruffling her hair. She glared playfully at me before going to sit next to Erica. I turned to find Arro watching me carefully, her sharp grey eyes missing nothing. She smiled at me for a minute before motioning for me to come sit next to her. I smiled half-heartedly before accepting her offer. Slowly, I sat down on the rock next to her, leaning my back against the cool surface behind me. _

_ "Max, the day you found us, why were you crying? You never did tell us," Arro asked me softly. I sighed, I guess it was time they knew._

_ "It was my birthday, but I already told you that," I began. "I had a flock, no a FAMILY, before you guys came along. I had helped raise them, I was in love one of them, I loved all of them, I had saved the world with them, for them. And they betrayed me. They left me, tried to kick me out, threw me out like yesterdays leftovers. And to make it worse they left me for her. For my clone; HE left me for my clone," My voice trailed to a whisper and my lower lip quivered. No. I wasn't going to cry again. I cried that one day. Never again. Not over them, they weren't worth it. Arro looked at me sorrowfully. I heard Erica's pencil stop sketching and I knew that she and DJ were watching me. I also knew that Erica heard me, with her feline senses._

_ "Then they weren't your family," Arro told me looking into my eyes, "we, are your family." As she said this, I knew she meant every word. I pulled her into me and hugged her tightly; she was my family. I pulled away and held her at arms length._

_ "Thanks Arro, I suppose I'll tell the rest of the Flock when we get back," I sniffled slightly laughing a bit and my best friend rolled her eyes at me. Then she nodded._

_ "Only if you want to, but Nico might be out for blood," She said seriously but I could see the hint of mischief in her eyes and laughed._

_ "Probably!" I replied laughing. I looked at DJ and Erica who were still looking at me worriedly. Seeing me laugh DJ turned back to Erica's drawing; Erica however kept her eyes on me for a moment before whipping her head around. Her body tensed and she slowly slid her art supplies back into her bag. My body went rigid, and I crept over to her, Arro not far behind me. "What is it?" I hissed urgency coating my words. Erica motioned for us to be quiet and stay put as she, leapt up the rocks to the top of a small rock wall behind us. There was someone or something on the other side. Erica leapt to the top and crouched behind a large boulder with the feline grace I had never seen in a person. But then again, she was part lion. Then I heard it. Voices; and the flapping of wings. _

_ "Why are you stopping?" A boy's voice came from the other side of the rocks. He sounded no older than DJ. I heard his feet hit the ground and saw Erica peek around the rock before pulling her head back swiftly. _

_ "Do we even know where we are going?" A second voice snapped, this time a girl sounding younger than the boy, "It's been a year and a half Kyle, a year and a half since we got out. Since we escaped The School. We've been on the run for a freaking year and a half! Even though we aren't being hunted, where are we supposed to go? We are mutant bird-kids! We don't know who our parents are, and even if we did, I wouldn't want to go back to them, they gave me away! Your parents gave you away! So where are we going? We can't stay on the run forever Kyle! We need a home!" My eyes widened. The School, mutant bird-kids. They were like us. Where were all these kids coming from? _

_ "I'm sorry Devin, I know, I guess I just don't know where to go, I guess I'm scared. I-" The boy started before he was cut off by the girl._

_ "Stop." She said sharply, something about her voice had changed. _

_ "What is it?" The boy responded urgently. What was going on?_

_ "We're not alone Kyle, I can hear them," The girl replied quietly. I mentally face-palmed. A mind reader! Crud. I put up a mind block and mouthed to the others who stared at me quizzically. They didn't know what a mind-block was. That was definitely going to be in our flying lesson. I paused for a moment waiting to see what the kids would do next. "Hello? Is anybody there? I can here you, I know what you are!" The girl shouted and I let out a frustrated sigh. I motioned for the others to stay put and I unfurled my wings and shot into the sky. I heard the kids gasp as I flew higher and higher before diving straight down again. I slowed as I approached the rock by where Erica was hiding. I hit the ground with such force, a few rocks crumbled down the rock wall. The kids stared at me, the boy in awe, and the girl warily._

_ "Hello," I said softly. These kids were young; younger than DJ, but older than Rain. The boy looked about 14 with shaggy dirty-blonde hair and hazel eyes. His tan muscular skin had several scars up his arms, showing that at his young age, his life had not been easy so far. His wings were still out and were in a pattern seemingly of stripes alternating between a white cream, and a gray so dark it looked blue. His wings resembled that of a perigrine falcon and must have been over 9 feet in wingspan. _

_The girl watched me carefully with dark brown eyes. Her red and orange hair spilled over her shoulders (_**Check Polyvore Account, it is hard to describe)**_falling just past her shoulders. Her army green shorts and white t-shirt expressed her personality. With her wings still out, she looked fierce and dangerous. Her wings had to be over 10 feet, yet she was younger than the boy, and were covered in white feathers on the inside and tawny on the outside, making it easy for her to camoflouge against the sky. _

_ "Why can't I read your mind," The girl asked me carefully, curiosity creating sparks in her eyes. I smiled knowningly._

_ "It's called a mind block," I answered her honestly. "You said you two are on the run and you escaped from the school. Are you sure they're not after you anymore?" The boy shook his head._

_ "They came after us for the first few weeks, we haven't seen or heard from them for over a year, they didn't care much that we escaped anyway, they realized they could make better versions, that's what Devin said they were working on anyway," He answered causing the girl to resume a casual position. I motioned for Arro, DJ, and Erica that it was safe for them to come out. As they emerged, the kids jumped and got closer together. I held up my hands to them._

_ "No, no it's okay, this is my family, or part of it at least. Would you like to come stay with us? You said you were looking for a family," I asked warmly, the girl stared at me._

_ "And why should we trust you?" she snapped. I stared at her for a moment before answering._

_ "Because, how many other bird kids have you met? And why would I, Maximum Ride, try to take you back to where I myself escaped from?" The girl looked at me before nodding. "So what are your names?" _

_ "Devin," The girl answered nodding her head in greeting to me._

_ "Kyle," The boy told me earnestly looking at us with relief in his eyes. I smiled at them._

_ "Welcome to our family guys," _

_*End Flashback*_

And now here we were. Aqua and Rain had gotten better by the next day, and we started flying lessons. Now everyone in the flock, except for Erica and Leo of course, could fly effortlessly. I had told everyone the truth about what had happened to my old flock when we had returned with Kyle and Devin. Like Arro had predicted, Nico was out for blood and it took Leo, who could control emotions, half an hour to calm him down. But now we lived everyday in peace and loved and protected one another. It had been over 6 months. Almost 8, since THEY left. And I had never been happier. Of all the kids, Rain, Aqua, Devin, Kyle, and DJ took the last name Ride. Leo, Erica, Nico and Arro decided not to, which was totally fine with me, because whenever we went out to eat we were the Rides. Just because they had my last name, didn't mean that they were my kids. They were my younger siblings. Aqua only took my last name to appease her younger sister, wheras Devin, Kyle and DJ had done it for a sense of security. We still only used first names, but their full name if they misbehaved. Leo and Aqua had become incredibly close since he had helped nurse her back to health, and had soon started dating. It would have been extremely awkward if they both had the same last name anyway. But needless to say, everyone was happy.

"Mall people, let's go!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the house. I hopped over to the doorway leading to the living room where Nico, Devin, Kyle, Rain, and Leo were sitting on the couch facing the TV. Well Devin, Rain, and Kyle were sitting in the couch, Nico and Leo were laying in hammocks we had installed that hung from the celing right above them. Nico shot me a grin and swung his legs over to the side of the hammock before jumping off landing feet first right in front of me. "Show off," I muttered and he rolled his eyes. "10 more minutes on that playbox thing okay guys? Do something with your brain. Go outside! Go flying! I don't know! Just get off Call of Duty!" The kids groaned at my insistence but I knew they would listen anyway. I wrapped my arms around Nico's neck and buried my face into his collar bone. He chuckled lightly before holding me at arms length forcing me to look into those green eyes that made me melt. He slid his hand up to cup my cheek, the other holding possessively onto my hip. I leaned in and closed my eyes as his lips met me halfway. He kissed me softly, knowing there were kids sitting right there. We would continue this later. I curled my fingers into his hair, pulling my body closer to his and he smiled into my lips.

"Max! No PDA in the living room!" Erica scolded me from the doorway and I rolled my eyes reluctantly pulling away from my addictive boyfriend. He grinned childishly at me and I swatted him playfully.

"Make sure they get off Nico," I told him sternly and her rolled his eyes again.

"You got it babe," He replied kissing me lightly again before jumping back up to his hammock. I glared at him and he stuck his tounge out at me before laughing lightly. I shook my head at his antics as I strode out to the silver Infiniti that was our car. We also had a motorcycle and a big grey minivan for when we wanted to go places as a family. We usually had to take two cars though. Now I know what your thinking, why not just fly to the mall? Well 4 bird-kids carrying a lion-kid flying into the parking lot? I don't think so. I slid out the keys and hit the unlock button on the little remote thing. DJ sprinted past me.

"I call shot-gun!" She hollered back to us and I rolled my eyes. I slid into the drivers seat as Arro and Erica crawled into the backseat. One more. Arro pulled her door shut and Erica opened the one on her side before sliding into the middle to wait. I started the engine and the car roared. I put my hand on the horn and gave a gentle push. HONK! The front door flew open and Aqua ran out slamming the door behind her. As she ran to the car, she tugged an aqua converse shoe onto her left foot, hopping the last few feet to the car.

"I'm coming! I'm here! Sorry!" She apologized breathlessly as she closed the car door behind her. I waved my hand at her motioning that her apology wasn't needed. She blew a strand of her straightened hair out of her eyes and finished tying her converse before buckling her seatbelt. DJ turned on the radio and waved her hand over the console instantly changing the song on the radio to 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)' by Fallout Boy. She grinned and made her hand look like she was opening an imaginary door knob spinning her hand to the right causing the music to blare. I glared at her and she sheepishly spun her hand the other way making the music's volume go down. I pulled onto the main road as Aqua began to talk about what she was going to buy at Aeropostale. I groaned softly. We were off to the mall.

We got to the mall in about a good 10 minutes, given that we didn't live that far from it. I flung open the drivers side door and stumbled out, followed by the rest of the girls doing the same. Bird Kids; and Lion-kid. Raised in cages. Claustrophobic. Not to mention that Aqua wouldn't stop talking! We all heard about how she was going to buy the perfect pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and match it with an Aqua top. But it couldn't have too long of sleeves. Or frills. Or lace. Or flowers. It was aggravating! I looked at the watch on my wrist.

"Ok, its 1:30. Meet back at the car at 2:15, got it?" I instructed and the girls nodded. Aqua raised her hand and waved it in the air. I groaned. "Aqua how many times do I have to tell you, you don't need to raise your hand when you talk!" Aqua rolled her eyes at me. Annoying 16 year old.

"Sorry Max. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to go to Aeropostale with Erica ok?" She looked at me wide-eyed. Erica groaned.

"That's fine Aqua just go somewhere kitty wants to go too," I replied. Erica glared at me. She hated it when we called her kitty. "Sorry Erica, couldn't help myself." I grinned at her and she frowned at me before being dragged away by an overly excited Aqua. DJ stuck her hands in her pockets and scuffed her feet over the asphalt parking lot, looking at them awkwardly.

"Um Max? Can we go to Hot Topic? I kind of need some new headphones…" she trailed off and I looked at her sympathetically.

"Devin?" I asked her and she nodded. I laughed lightly and jerked my head towards the mall doors. DJ sighed in relief. This wasn't the first time Devin had accidently blown up her headphones. You see Devin, was a bit of a pyro, not a super pyro, but she and Leo were always trying to see what they could blow up without getting in trouble. And considering they were practically sisters, Devin and DJ shared a room in the basement, leaving most of DJ's stuff as a target for being blown up.

Together, DJ, Arro and I strode through the busy, fluorescently lighted mall corridor towards Hot Topic. It was DJ's favorite place to get headphones because they worked, and they weren't super expensive. When we reached the dimly lit store, I handed DJ a 10 dollar bill and she ran into the rock music blaring store. I leaned against the wall with Arro and we waited. She wouldn't be that long. We stood in quiet just watching for a moment. Then something caught my eye. A flash of farmiliar blonde hair. I tensed scanning the area. There it was again. Then I saw them. Hot Topic was right near the food court, which usually wasn't a bad thing. Especially since Aunty Anne's was only about ten stores the other way. Today, it was a very bad thing to be near the food court. I could see them sitting at a table near McDonalds, almost on the other side of the food court. I have bird vision remember? My blood began to burn and a gust of wind swept through the corridor, causing some passerbyes to halt and look for an air conditioning vent. I was beginning to see red spots clouding my vision. How dare they come back! I stopped myself. Take deep breaths Max. I uncurled the fists I hadn't noticed that I made and grabbed Arro's arm, quickly yanking her around the corner and into the dark store that was Hot Topic. She pulled her arm from my grasp brushing the worn leather of her jacket with her hand. She glared at me as she straightened her jacket.

"What the heck Max? What was that for?" She snapped at me. I didn't say anything. Arro stopped preening her appearance and looked at me. Her eyes met mine. "Max," she said dangerously, "what's going on?" I looked at her.

"They're back.

**Ok so how do you like the rewrite? The original was about 4 pages give or take. This one is 14. Full. Fricking. Pages. It about killed me. It's only 3:30. I was at the doctor from 9:45-12:00. I wrote about 6 and a half pages yesterday. I wrote for three and a half hours today! And now I have to rewrite chapter 2 and 3! Well I hope you like it so you better review! So thanks for reading and R&R please! I worked REALLY REALLY REALLY hard on this rewrite! I wont post it until I've rewritten the other chapters as well so hopefully these will both be up by tonight!**

**-Horsegirl5701**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay everyone! I'm rewriting Chapter 2 now! Because like I said in chapter 1, I didn't like how it sounded. So here goes nothing!**

Arro's eyes darkened and her body went rigid. She knew exactly who I was talking about. Her tanned hands curled themselves into fists at her sides and I caught sight of a spark. When Arro got angry, she started to spark, like a fire. I had to calm her down even though I was ready to do the same.

"Arro, calm down, now. We cannot blow our cover. We cannot do that to the kids. Not now. Not ever. The best thing we can do, it put up mind blocks, get DJ, and get out of here. NOW," I muttered to her. Her shoulders sagged, but the fire in her eyes never left. She nodded, her jaw set. I turned around to see DJ approaching, a Hot Topic bag in one hand and my change in the other. She saw the looks on our faces and new something was wrong. She quickly walked over to us, handing me my change and whipping her head around to scan our surroundings. I had taught that to every person in my flock. I pocketed the few crumpled dollar bills as the coins clinked together. I winced at the seemingly loud sound.

"Max, what's wrong?" DJ asked me beginning to panic. My face softened and I grabbed her hand. Even at 15, DJ let me for a moment before pulling back.

"There's nothing to be afraid of DJ, just put up your mind block. I'll explain in the car I promise," I assured her pulling out my generic phone. Everyone in the flock had one in case of emergencies. I hit number 7 on speed dial and put the phone up to me ear. Aqua picked up on the second ring.

"Max? You never call me, what's up?" Aqua asked through the phone. I could hear Erica on the other end demanding to know what was going on. I looked around the doorframe of Hot Topic. They were still there. I sucked in a breath.

"Aqua, I need you to listen to me for once okay? Nothing is wrong, but I need you to meet me at the car as soon as you can. I'll explain there just don't panic. We need to leave. No one is here to hurt us though okay? So don't panic." I told her urgency thick in my voice. The other end of the line went quiet and I heard Aqua relaying the information to Erica.

"Got it Max, we'll meet you there ASAP," Aqua murmured to me and I sighed in relief. Aqua was never this obedient. I flashed a thumbs up to Arro who was eyeing them from afar.

"Thank Aqua, see you soon," I told her before ending the call. "Mind blocks up?" I asked Arro and DJ. They both nodded. I motioned for them to follow me. I looked at the floor and maneuvered between people, almost hitting a few. I didn't look back to see if DJ and Arro were following me, I knew they were. I tried to spot patterns in the mall flooring, the fluorescent lighting hitting the surface causing a glare. I looked up for a second. We were right next to Aunty Anne's. The pretzel shop was brightly lit, making the white and blue glow. An elderly woman who looked a little over 50 was stationed behind the cash register. Her warm eyes and kind smile reminded me of a grandmother who made cookies and gave you sweets. Not that I ever had one. She was a shorter woman, and a bit pudgy as well, wrapped in her Auntie Anne's apron. And the best part. There was no line. Even in a dire situation an Auntie Anne's with no line was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I swiftly walked over to the woman at the cash register. Her nametag read Martha.

"Hello, I'll have a cookie cake, and a dozen cinnamon pretzels to go please!" I ordered and smiled warmly at her. Martha smiled back and rung up my order.

"That will be $32.57 miss," she told me kindly and I fished out the correct amount. I handed her two $20 dollar bills as Arro and DJ came up behind me. Arro glared at me.

"Max," she hissed as Martha handed me my change and went to get my order, "we don't have time for this. We need to leave, now!" I shook my head.

"We do have time for this," I insisted before adding, "plus Devin will kill me if I don't bring her any back." Arro glared at me and dug her nails into her palms before giving a frustrated sigh and shouldering in front of me. I let out a noise of protest and she simply glared at me.

"Excuse me, but it is our little sister's birthday, and we have to be home in 10 minutes, is there anyway you could please hurry?" Arro asked Martha earnestly. The jolly women widened her eyes in alarm.

"Oh of course!" She exclaimed quickly retrieving a dozen cinnamon pretzels from the rack. "We can't have you missing the little one's birthday!" She handed Arro the boxed up cookie cake, and myself the bag of pretzels. We thanked her before jogging the rest of the way to the car. As we exited the mall, I spotted Erica and Aqua waiting by our car. Erica was leaning against the silver Infiniti, while Aqua paced in front of her. As they spotted us, Erica's face turned from concern, to amusement, and back again. I fumbled with the keys in my pocket, juggling the bag of pretzels before handing them to DJ. The car beeped as it unlocked and I jumped into the drivers seat. The other four girls swiftly slid into the car closing the doors and locking them. I started the engine and stared at the car wheel for a minute before I heard Arro clear her throat.

"Max, why did we have to leave?" Erica asked me, her amber eyes flashing. I looked at her grimly.

"My old Flock. They're back," I said monotonously. Erica's jaw locked causing a muscle in her neck to flex unintentionally. DJ froze from trying to get comfortable with a bag of hot cinnamon pretzels scorching her lap. Aqua's jaw went slack and the fire returned to Arro's eyes. No one spoke for a moment.

"Why?" Aqua asked. This one word snapped everyone out of their silent trance. We all looked at her and she shrugged.

"Honestly Aqua," I started and she shrunk back thinking that I was going to yell at her, "I don't know why they're back. What I do know is that they are and we are going to hang out inside for a little bit this week. That means no mall for a week. Okay? I don't even want to think about them, let's just pretend this didn't happen. I don't want to talk about it right now." I turned back to the wheel and pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

As we pulled into our driveway, I smiled softly knowing that this was where my family was. This was home. This was were I belonged, and no one was going to take that away from me. I parked the car outside the garage and shut off the engine. The whole car ride back from the mall had been silent, everyone deep in thought. The sun was still high, but was beginning to dip towards the horizon where it would set later on today. I pushed open the car door and grabbed the pretzels from DJ, who hadn't moved the entire car ride. She willingly let me have them and Arro grabbed the Cookie Cake. Tossed Erica the keys to let her lock up and pull in the garage, something she did to practice for her drivers test. She had failed it the first few times.

"Not a scratch," I called to her sternly and she waved her hand dismissively at me. I pursed my lips in an irritated frown but walked towards the front door anyway. I fumbled with the knob for a moment, my palms sweaty from nervousness but eventually got it to click open. Forcefully I kicked the rest of the door open with my foot and strode confidently into the kitchen and put down the pretzels on the counter. I could hear the kids in their various places in the house. I opened the bag and snatched a pretzel before shouting,

"I'm home and I brought pretzels from Auntie Anne's!" I called to everyone before darting away from the table.

"PRETZELS!" I heard Devin shout from her room in the basement before the pounding of 5 pairs of feet came roaring towards the kitchen. I sniggered and retreated up the stairs, almost being knocked over by a Leo scrambling towards the pretzels. I shoved part of the pretzel in my mouth and hopped up the stairs to my room leaving an exasperated Arro to deal with the squabbling kids in our kitchen. I slipped into my room, which I had redone since THEY left. It was now red on two walls, and black on the other. Both color sets were parallel. Black vine like shapes writhed around the walls and my red bed had a matching comforter with big silver wings across the surface. My room was really ME now. I loved it. I quickly ate the rest of the pretzel before flopping down on my bed for a nap. I was spread across the bed in a shape rivaling an octopus, snuggling my pillow when I heard my door click open and someone come in. I sighed heavily and snuggled deeper into my pillow.

"Max," Nico murmured in a singsong voice and I picked up a throw pillow and chucking it at his head. He chuckled and I heard the pillow hit the wall with a soft thump. "You missed." He whispered in my ear before sitting on my bed next to me. I grumbled something about a girl never being able to sleep around here and he moved his hand to massage in between my shoulder blades. I sighed in relief at the tension he was able to release from my body. "You know Devin never did get off the Xbox." He whispered to me teasingly and I grumbled.

"Nico," His hand nor his body didn't move. "Nico, leave now, I want to sleep. Please," I pleaded with him and the hand massaging my back disappeared. Nico kissed the top of my head lightly, his light brown curls brushing my head.

"Night Night Maxie," He whispered slowly backing out of my room. I smiled serenely and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

I was woken up by someone pounding on the door to my bedroom. I groaned and rolled over, bringing my pillow with me and pressing it over my ears in an attempt to block out the person banging on my door. If they needed me that badly why didn't they just come in? Oh right, I had established that if you woke me up by coming into my room it would be the last thing you do. What can I say, I like sleep. The pounding didn't stop but did intensify and get louder.

"MAX!" Devin shouted from the other side of the door. I don't know why but when someone shouted my name, I always freaked out and thought about the worst. So when Devin shouted my name, I jumped out of bed and flung open my bedroom door. Devin stood there arms crossed, examining her red painted nails with interest. I glared at her.

"Seriously Devin? I thought we were being attacked or something! What have I told you about false alarms! You can't-" I began to chew her out before she cut me off.

"Someone's coming Max. They're like us; they know you, three boys, two girls, and five in all. They'll be here any second. The scary part, you know them too," Devin told me meeting my eyes as she said the last part. I became a statue. What did they want, they left me on my birthday, replaced me, and now they were back. What more could they do to me.

"Tell everyone to put up mind-blocks stat," I instructed her and she nodded. She moved to leave but paused and turned back to me.

"It's them, isn't it? Those people you saw at the mall, the people you told us about isn't it?" She asked me. I nodded grimly and her eyes darkened. Then she left to go tell the others about the mind-blocks.

"Max, what's going on? Devin just told us to put up mind-blocks," Arro's voice sounded from beside me. She was standing next to me watching me urgently. I looked at her solemnly, my blood turning into liquid rage.

"They're coming here," I seethed and Arro's fists began to spark. As much as I wanted her to flay them, we couldn't burn the house down.

"Arro, chill, we'll figure it out. They'll be here any-" I was interrupted by the door bell ringing. "Now." I ended bluntly and Arro all but burst into flames. I walked towards the stairs. I turned to Arro. "Run and tell the others what's going on and to meet me in the foyer," As soon as I finished Arro was gone. Super Speed came in handy when your mind reader couldn't reach you. I gathered myself and began to descend down the stairs. I wasn't the first one at the door though, Devin was. I heard the 13-year-old mind reader open the door. I could practically see her burning gaze give them each a once over.

"What do YOU want?" She demanded, her voice seething venom and hatred. I heard Angel scoff.

"Excuse me? We came for Max, not some rude little" Devin slammed the door in their faces. Good for her. I walked down the rest of the stairs as the doorbell was rung again. By now the rest of the Flock was gathered in the Foyer with grim looks of hatred and anger on their faces. Nico had his hand on Arro's shoulder as a restraint to calm her down and I could see Leo's gaze trained on her, trying to calm her emotions. Normally girls would be bothered by their boyfriends comforting other girls but considering that that girl was like his sister, I wasn't too worried. Everyone looked at me and came to stand behind me, Devin on my right, Arro on my left, and Erica behind me. Aqua stood next to Leo to help control his raging temper that if exploded and got out of hand, could mean very bad things. I collected my self and wrenched open the front door. Everyone went silent. I looked at them.

Angel was taller, with long platinum hair falling to her waist in knots; she had the same arrogant smile and snooty look on her face that made her look like she smelt something foul. Gazzy was older, broader with thick shoulders, and arms rippling with muscle. Even at 13, he was built. Nudge had changed most of all. The bubbly girl I once new was dressed head to toe in black, her hair pulled in a tight bun with large skull earrings dangling to her neck. What looked like a dog collar was fastened around her neck, and her eyes were rimmed with black. She had changed. Iggy was taller, broader, not the skinny little boy he was when he left; and Fang, still looked Emo. They were all dirty and looked tired. But I took no pity on them. They were traitors.

"Why are you here?" I snarled at them, "Did you think you would be welcomed back with open arms? Did you think I would forgive you for what you've done to me? How dare you come back!" I spat the last words, my temper starting to flare. Suddenly, I felt serenely calm. Damn you Leo and your emotion control!

"We came to talk Max," Gazzy said softly. I glared at them all making them flinch.

"And what," I ground out, "makes you think I'll talk to you?" The traitors looked at their feet, unsure of how to answer.

"We don't think you'll talk to us. Honestly I'm surprised you haven't blown us to pieces yet," A soft voice answered seriously. The traitors all turned to look at Nudge who was standing in the back arms crossed, looking at me intently. They looked shocked that she had spoken. A war began in my head as to weather I should hear them out or not. The rational side won. I sighed aggravated.

"You have ten-minutes. What happens after that depends," I decided stepping back and letting the traitors in. They walked to the living room and sat down on the couch farthest from the game TV. I walked in and climbed the ladder on the wall to a hammock hanging from the ceiling only to be followed by Nico, he sat next to me and I snuggled into his chest. Erica ran and flipped up onto the highest hammock and hit the button on the ceiling that would lower the hammocks. As we neared the ground, Arro joined Erica and Aqua and Rain took the last hammock. Devin, Leo and Kyle all sat arms crossed on the couch that they had flipped around to face the traitors, who by now sat uncomfortably. DJ came in last and pulled out a bungee cord chair from the corner. She set it in between the hammock I was in and the one that Erica and Arro sat on. Rain squirmed from where she sat by her sister.

"Max can we do names?" She asked me innocently and my heart melted. I nodded and turned to the group.

"Of course sweetie. Let's go around the room and say our names, ages, our powers and one thing about us." I said looking at my Flock my eyes turning steely when they settled on the traitors. **(Ill describe my oc's appearances better as well)** I nodded for them to go first and Angel, being Angel, of course had to go first.

"I'm Angel," She smiled brightly at us and we glared at her causing her grin to falter, "and I am 9 years old. I can breathe underwater, talk to animals, change my appearance at will, read minds and control minds. I love being in charge!" I snorted. Nothing new, then again who needs a 9 year old who can do everything and secretly plans world domination? At our continuous glares her smile disappeared and she nudged her brother to cover up her awkwardness. Gazzy glared at her.

"My names Gazzy and I'm 11. I can mimic voices, and have some weirdly powerful gas. I hate it when my sister pretends like she knows everything and is the most powerful person in the world." He said bluntly, ignoring the look of disbelief from his younger sister. Iggy went next.

"Iggy. 17. I'm super strong, can sense colors because I'm blind, and I like to cook." Iggy sat back in the couch in a very reserved position, tapping Nudge on the shoulder who huffed.

"I'm Nudge. I'm 14, I'm magnetic, I can hack technology, and can change your clothes and mine if I want. I went Goth right after I was forced to ditch Max," We all stared at her in shock and Angel looked like she wanted to punch Nudge in the face. My Flock regained their composure quickly but the traitors were left on edge. Nudge shrugged at our looks and glanced at Fang motioning for him to take his turn.

"Fang. 17. Can turn invisible, breath underwater and can read emotions. I like black." No dip Sherlock. I smirked triumphantly my flock's turn.

"The names Max Ride, but you already knew that. I'm 17 which you also already knew considering I turned 17 the day you stabbed me in the back but you know whatever, I've got a new, better family. I can reach flying speeds of up to 300 miles an hour, create force fields, and control wind. I love my NEW Flock." I smirked at their looks of discomfort and my family followed suit. I turned to Nico who tightened his hold on my waist and pulled me closer to him. I saw Fang's jaw twitch.

"I'm Nico, I'm 17 like Max, I can turn invisible, and I can make you see things that aren't there. I am in love with Max." He finished kissing my temple lightly. I turned to look at my boyfriend. His curly light brown hair barely brushed his eyebrows and his emerald eyes popped. His tan skin was smooth and rippled with muscle. Nico was about 5'11, an inch taller than myself, and lean with muscle. I kissed his cheek and snuggled back into his chest. Arro was next.

"I'm Arro, I am 17 and second in command in this place so don't screw with me. I have super speed, can heal almost anything, and can control fire. One thing about me, I spark when I'm angry," She ground her jaw at the last part and I saw sparks emit from her fists causing Erica to jump. Arro looked at her fists and smiled sheepishly at Erica who just rolled her eyes. Arro was tall, probably about 6'2", and lean, with long curly light brown hair that fell to her waist and was dyed red at the tips. Her clear grey eyes were bright and seemed like they could see anything. She had sharp features and a beautiful smile. Arro flicked a strand of her curly hair behind her shoulder and looked at Erica, signaling for her to go.

"My name is Erica. I'm 16 and not a bird-kid. My twin brother and I are 96% human, 4% lion. This means I can shape shift. I also have heightened senses; I can paralyze you with my eyes on occasion, and repair anything. I don't like you." Erica snarled at the traitors. If Arro hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder, Erica might have pounced. Erica's amber eyes burned bright with hatred and anger. Her long dirty blonde hair twisted into a side-braid. At about 5'7", Erica was lean and lithe, containing Cat DNA, and her body did not betray her when it came to fights. DJ went next.

"I'm DJ Ride, and I'm 15. I can control music and I'm telekinetic. One thing about me, I can make you feel so much pain." DJ smiled cruelly at what once was my family and I grinned at the feisty teen I knew and loved. Her long dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail; the light highlighting her now exposed eyes. I looked at Aqua.

"I'm Aqua Ride, and I'm 16. I can breathe underwater and control water. I love my little sister!" Aqua finished hugging Rain tightly. I smiled at her. She was so genuine and innocent. Her clear blue eyes matched the sky and the Aqua in her platinum hair didn't look artificial. I smiled softly at Rain who waited patiently to speak.

"I'm Rain Ride, and I am 9 years old! I can talk to some animals and control the weather outside. I love my sister and Max. And my whole family too!" Rain exclaimed. I loved this little girl. I loved her much much more than I ever loved Angel. Devin was next.

"I. Am Devin Ride." Devin seethed to the traitors, "I'm 13. I can read minds. I can put images into your mind. I can see glimpses of the future. I can control you. I love Call of Duty." I smirked at the astounded looks on the traitor's faces. Devin's dark eyes contrasted with her fiery head of hair, and her pixie-like face. However, on her it looked normal. It looked dangerous. I glanced at Leo to go next,

"Yo, I'm Leo, and I'm Erica's twin which means that I'm also a Lion kid. I'm also 16. I can shape shift, I have heightened senses, and I can control your emotions. I am very protective of people I love." The golden haired boy spoke, his amber eyes flashing. Leo's hair looked like it belonged to a California surfer, the golden brown color that it was. And matched with his tanned skin, he looked like a surfer. Last, was Kyle who was patiently waiting his turn to introduce himself.

"I'm Kyle, I'm 14, I can control earth, and I can change my appearance to look like anyone I want. I can make myself look like anyone of you in a heartbeat." Kyle glared at the people on the other side of the room. It was silent for a moment and I looked around. Then something occurred to me. Something I hadn't noticed before.

"Where. Are Dylan the traitor, and Fang's girlfriend, MY CLONE, that you ditched me for?" I asked sweetly. The traitors looked at me nervously.

"They um…"

**Geez! Two rewritten chapters in one day! I wrote 20 pages of this story today! 10 for this chapter, 14 for the last! That's actually over 20 but who cares. So I really hope you like these rewrites, I do. And hopefully I can do a quick rewrite of chapter 3 tomorrow! So R&R!**

**-Horsegirl5701**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh well about the reviews! Hehe! Also if you read the hunger games and love it be sure to read my crossover! It may look stupid but it really is good I promise!**

"Well um they…." Fang trailed off. Nudge looked up and glanced at Fang who nodded.

"You see Max we left you because Maya had lied to us, saying you worked for the school and that she was the better version." Nudge stated boldly meeting my eyes. "It wasn't until later that we found out the truth. Maya and Dylan weren't really Maya and Dylan. They were robots working for the school sending back information. The real Dylan and Maya are still at the school. We found out when Maya blew up at Angel one day. She started screaming at Angel about how she needed to drop the 'I'm so awesome I should be leader act' and though I agreed with her the other things she said were uncalled for. They flew off and we haven't seen them since they left last week so we went to find you."

"We thought you could help us." Angel added pleadingly. I glared at her.

"Why," I seethed, "should I forgive you let alone help you for kicking me out of the family that I basically raised! And for leaving me for my clone!" My voice grew to a shriek. The wind started to pick up and Shadow placed an arm around my shoulders. He leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"Max calm down, not here, not now, not in front of them." He murmured in my ear.

_Max take a chill pill! Geez… _Devin told me in my head. I glared at her then smirked.

_Hey Dev, watch out I know about the Xbox! _I retorted and she shot me a look. I turned back to the visitors.

"You may stay here but I will have to think about it, for maybe a week. You can stay on the fourth floor but stay out of our room's on the third floor, Aqua's room down the hall, and Arro and Devin's room downstairs." I told them ignoring the groans from both sides of the room. I stood up and walked into the kitchen. DJ and Erica followed me.

"You know Fang was thinking about you," Devin said and I stared at her, "he was thinking that you still looked beautiful and that you shouldn't be stuck with that a-hole dressed in black." I snorted. Talk about the Pot calling the kettle black. I was about to say something when a shout erupted from the great room

"Get your hands off my girlfriend!" Leo shouted and Erica rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long week.

**Okay so it's kind of short… okay really short but I have limited time! Eeep! Again if you like the hunger games read my crossover it's good I pinky promise! R&R please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Everyone, It's been a long time eh? I'm sorry. I've been busy and honestly ran out of ideas for this story. Even as I'm writing this I have no idea where this chapter will go but I guess we will find out as we go. So I hope you like it, R&R if you want, but that definitely helps the pace of the story. (Also I am changing Shane's name to Nico, IDK why it was Shadow in the last chapter, probably spell-check)**

**-Horsegirl5701**

I walked back into the family room to see Leo with his arm around Aqua's waist, his body shaking violently, his amber eyes practically bursting with flames. I grimaced. This was not good. I shot an urgent look at Nico, who was standing across the room from me with Rain clinging to his side and DJ standing next to him. His eyes met mine and he nodded with intense determination. He whispered something to Kyle, whose eyes widened in understanding. Kyle nodded across the room from me, motioning to Angel, Nudge, Gazzy and Fang to follow him as he ushered DJ, and Rain out the door. Devin slipped from my side and out the door to follow them out of the room. As Kyle followed the small group of misfits out, he closed the door behind him. I slipped in with Erica to stand next to Arro, and did the same. I could hear Fang's shouts of indignant remarks from the other side of the room. Iggy stood his ground across from Leo and Aqua confident but wary as to what was coming. Aqua spoke quietly to Leo, trying to calm him down, but we all knew he was at the place of no return. Leo's body began to tremor even more violently than before, his shoulders heaving, his arm around Aqua loosening. Aqua slipped his grasp as Leo's body hit the floor, him kneeling, bracing himself on the ground. I nodded at Erica who grimaced before beginning to shift. She was more controlled than her brother, having learned to shift quietly and unnoticeably. Leo's shirt split across his back, his spin arching and becoming longer, his body growing golden fur. His face began the gruesome transformation and his nose elongated and became his muzzle. The muzzle of a lion. His dark mane sprouted from his neck, his body beginning to look more like a lion, in a minute, he would be all Lion. When Leo was angry, it was dangerous. He could not control himself in his other form, his moves were impulsive, the humane part of his brain struggled for control. He was lethal. Due to genetic configuration, Leo was not the size of a normal Lion; he was bigger, with sharper claws and a keener nose, greater vision. The only person who could stop him in his shifted form was his sister in hers. I looked to my left to see a fully shifted, genetically modified Lioness, probably 3 times the normal size of a Lioness in the wild. She was the size of a cross between a horse and a pony, her brother being the size of a horse. Sometimes for fun, Erica and Leo would let us have rides on their backs, but only if they were in a good mood.

A loud roar sounded from in front of me and there Leo stood, his paws the size of XXL Dinner plates, his tail thrashing angrily. I saw his hindquarters tense; he was going to pounce on Iggy. I knew Iggy was super strong now, but not invincible, Leo had razor-sharp claws. I knew what I had to do. I pursed my lips. All of this over a girl. More importantly because Iggy had "hit" on Leo's girl. But then again, we mutated children had super powerful hormones. As Leo sank back on his Hind legs to pounce I sprang into action. I jumped in front of Iggy and created a force field. And not a second to soon. I pushed Iggy back onto the couch to focus on the force field just as Leo pounced. His large body hit the shield with such force that I stumbled backwards. That was when Erica stepped in. She and her brother circled each other, Erica growling, barking and roaring, trying to get through to her brother that she knew was there. The sibling lions pounced at each other clashing in mid-air before plummeting onto the ground wrestling in a large golden, hissing mass. I sighed as I saw a crack in the floor; it was a good thing that Erica had developed the power to fix things due to her brother's tendency to get angry.

The golden ball of fur separated and I could see that Leo was beginning to calm down, the Irises of his eyes beginning to lighten, His pupils becoming round again instead of the Cat's eye shape they had transformed into. The giant feline then shook his head and attempted to attack Iggy and I again. My force field was up, but as the giant mass of fur and muscle hit, I staggered again. One more hit and I was down for the count. Now I know what you're thinking, my fields are not wimpy but when you didn't get much of a warning and there is a 2-ton lion hitting you, it's not exactly easy. Plus this was all new to me. Luckily Erica growled and tackled her brother to the ground pinning him to the wooden floor. Leo writhed for a minute before stopping and shuddering. His large cat body began to warp back into its original human shape. I saw Nico throw Aqua a blanket, who then began to creep slowly towards Leo's changing body. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see my second in command and best friend staring at me worriedly. Never before had that much strain been put on my field. I turned to see Iggy cowering on the ground with a cut on his arm from where I had shoved him into the couch. His arm must have caught on the side-table. I turned to the other big cat that was now sitting in front of me patiently, licking her massive paw and swiping it around her ear. She cocked her head at me. Most people would take this as a sign of cuteness, but I could see the worry and intensity in Erica's eyes.

"Go change back in your room, we can handle it from here," Arro told her softly. Erica looked at her still shifting twin, with concern in her eyes, before beginning to walk towards the door that led to the foyer. Aqua now sat on the floor her arm around a shivering Leo who was wrapped in a plaid blanket that had been given to us by my mom. Aqua was explaining to him what had happened and horror filled his eyes as he looked around wildly. Leo's eyes met mine pleadingly and I smiled softly at me. His eyes searched for Iggy and a sigh of relief swept through him when he saw that he hadn't torn him to pieces.

A knock sounded on the door that led to the foyer. Kyle and the rest of the flock. _Max, are we all good?_ Devin's voice rang into my head and I nodded. Then realizing she couldn't see me I replied in through my thoughts, knowing she was still listening. _Yes. Open the door, Erica needs to shift back. Keep the… visitors, away. They might see her as a threat._ No reply told me that she was squeezing past all of the concerned teenagers to open the door. Not a second later, the door clicked open and was pulled open by an irritated looking Devin.

"I said get back! How many times do I have to tell you that! Kyle, DJ, a little help would be great. And you, MOVE!" I heard her shout exasperatedly. Erica rolled her eyes before shouldering past Devin and pushing past the now thinned group of teens. Angel stood, shocked in the middle of Erica's path, mouth open not moving. Hah, she must have tried talking to Erica, thinking she was all animal, and it didn't work. That must be new to her. Something didn't go her way. Erica opened her mouth and let out an ear-splitting roar causing Angel to shriek and run behind her older brother who was staring at the big cat in awe. After a moment of shocked silence the kids who had been waiting in the hall filed in and Leo stood up. I turned around to see Iggy standing up brushing himself off. Arro was standing next to him demanding to see his arm. He grudgingly complied and she passed her hand over his the cut on his forearm, the skin repairing itself immediately. Iggy nodded his thanks before locating Fang and going to stand next to him. Leo looked at the ground before feeling Aqua's glare at the back of his head. He sighed and pulled the plaid blanket tighter around his bare shoulders. He shuffled over to Iggy who flinched. Leo sighed again.

"I'm sorry man, like really sorry, sometimes my temper goes crazy and on top of the mutated hormones, I just can't… control myself sometimes. I'm really, really, REALLY sorry." Leo spluttered. When Iggy didn't reply, Leo looked at the ground dejectedly before going to stand next to Aqua, who wrapped her arms around him comfortingly. I could see his shoulders heave and I knew he was crying. This kind of stuff really upset Leo. I stared around the room for a minute; no one said anything, the only noise being an occasional sniffle from Leo. The room was now a mess. The coffee table split in two, several tears in the rug, and a crack in the hardwood. Not bad, but Erica would still need to fix it. I took in my surroundings. Then, Nudge spoke. She had hardly said anything since she got here which was really unusual for her.

"What happened?" She asked softly, still staring at the floor. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly at her silence before answering.

"Leo is a lion-human hybrid. And the fact that he is a teenage boy with raging hormones, and that he is super protective of his girlfriend, he sometimes can't control his shifting powers. When the adrenaline kicks in the cat part of him takes over, but only if the adrenaline is mostly anger. He shifts unintentionally, and the only person who can stop him is –" I was cut off by Erica, who was now, shifted back, leaning against the door frame. Her golden blonde hair was in a quick braid, and her amber eyes glistened.

"Me. I'm the only one who can speak to him," Angel opened her mouth, "And snotty little nine-year-olds who think they know everything can't either!" Erica snarled. Angel outwardly flinched, ducking behind Fang. "Because he's part cat, and part human, he can't be reached by mind readers, people who talk to animals can't reach him either. I don't know why but that's how it works. I shift when I'm angry too, but you would have to do a lot to make me angry, and when I shift, Leo can stop me, but his shifting isn't as controlled yet so It's harder. So a word of advice, don't piss either of us off," My eyes glanced to the scratch that Erica had on her leg. Her shorts only going to mid-thigh, exposed the claw marks that scored her calf. There wasn't any blood; put the scratch was puckered and red. She and her brother had stronger skin in their shifted form, but also sharper claws. I glanced at Leo, who winced whenever he put his right leg on the ground. The bad thing about when these two shift was that the two of them always came away with injuries.

"Wow, you both turn into Lions?" Gazzy asked wide-eyed, "but you were so big when we saw you! Lions aren't that big in the wild are they?" Erica smirked.

"We were mutated at The School remember? Just like you, and they couldn't just make us the size of normal lions. It was go big, or go home." She answered smartly. The visitors winced at the mention of The School.

"Cool," Gazzy breathed before getting elbowed by his sister and receiving a glare. Gazzy stared at Angel for a moment before walking away from her and the visitor's tight knit group to lean against the wall by Erica and Devin. Nudge glanced at him before sidling away as well to sit on the floor by Gazzy. I shot a quick glance at Fang who was standing rigidly, his jaw set, Iggy mimicking him and Angel looking astounded that someone was defying her. I looked at Arro out of the corner of my eye, to see her gaze flicking between the visitors, and the now separate Gazzy and Nudge. She caught my eye and a barely visible nod was exchanged. It was decided, if the visitors chose to leave, we would ask Gazzy and Nudge to stay. A small fire still burned in my heart, but as I thought back to the day they left, Gazzy and Nudge were the most reluctant to leave.

"Erica, Leo," I barked, catching everyone off-guard, "Go with Arro, she'll fix you up. Aqua would you get Leo some clothes? Meet them in Erica's room," The mentioned people nodded and left the room, not a single reply uttered, although I did catch Erica's look of annoyance, telling me that she was fine and could deal with it, but I ignored it. After the twins, Arro, and Aqua left, I glanced around the room and then the clock on the far wall. 4:30. Wow, it was later than I thought. It was time to get dinner started.

"DJ, Nico, you guys okay with starting dinner? Or do you want to order Pizza until we can go to the grocery to get extra food for our… guests," I asked the two semi-chefs of the household. They glanced at each other.

"Pizza," They answered unanimously. I grinned and grabbed a notepad and paper out of a drawer in the side table next to the couch.

"Alright, what does everybody want?"

**Okay, so that's it for this chapter, 6 pages, 2390 words. I would like to give inspiration credit to**

XxTuti17xX

**For inspiring me to write this story! I know there are some comparisons, but I had already come up with the human/other animal hybrid and I love big cats, so I apologize for any seemingly copied ideas, but I do love her story 'Far from Forgiven' so go read it please! I haven't read it in a while but I am going to see where her story went! But all of the characters are figments of my imagination that I had come up with and didn't know how to use in a story. Then I read the story mentioned above and I realized how to use my created characters! So, I hope you like this chapter, and READ AND REVIEW! REVIEWS MAKE ME WRITE MORE CHAPTERS FASTER! **

**But thank you all for reading my story and see you next time!**

**-Horsegirl5701**


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